Football helmet



Feb. 19, 1924. 1,488,881

H. R. HART FOOTBALL HELMET Filed Jan. ll, 1922 A TORNEY ljatented Feb. ld, M24.

neurensrerss einen,

HENRY nrneEwAY naar, or Monitorare, NEW JERSEY.

f Eoofrnnrn HELMET.

Application filed January 11, 1922.` Serial No. 528,432.` y

To all whom t may concern: 1

Be it known that l, HENRY RIDGEwnY flier, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing` in lllontclainin the State of New Jersey, haveinvented certain new anduseful lmprovements in Football Helmets,"of` which the following'` is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, forming; a part hereof.

(Football vhelmets have to f divergent requirements.

are `for the gnotectionkof the wearer, but 1n providing thisnrotection care must be exerf cised lest the means which protect the wearer cause injury to the opponent.` Further, a helmet to serve its `greatest usefulnessmust not konly yield protection to the top of the head and ears but also to the base of the skull and the neck. Real protectionagainst hard blows can only be secured through an inflexible shell, which can be shaped in :manufacture to protect the topof the head and base of the skull and neck.v in inflexible shell of this kind, however, may not be placed .in contact with the head because of the discomfort and injury which would be caused thereby and it may not lie near the outer surface of the helmet because of injury that it might cause to opponents. ln view ofthese considerations, infleztiblemembers, so far as is known, have never been incorporated in football helmets. The principal object of the present invention, therefcre, is to meet all of the conditions outlined abo-ve by providing a football helmet which shall be comfortable to the head, safe for opponents, and afford the greatestppossible protection to the wearer through the incorporation therein of an inflexible shell shaped in manufacture to protect thel head and neck from blows and yet it is to be imbedded in protective coverings of felt or the like. A further object of the invention is to provide in such a helmet a smooth continuous outer covering' therefor which shall prevent injury to the helmet and present a con'iparatively smooth surface to opponents. More particularly, the invention has for lts object to provide a football helmet which shall have an integral shell of fiber therein shaped in manufacture to conform` to the head, layersof felt on either side of the shell and an outer covering of leather. The

invention will be described with greater particularity in connection with the embodii satisfyl widely Primarily, they mentthereof illustrated in theaccompany-vV ing' drawing, wherein- .i Y

Figure l is a .View in perspective of the improved helmet. f f y i f Figure 2 is a view n longitudinalsection taken through the helmet and showing" its compositionin greater detail. l vl-leretofore, it has been thought imprac--y tic-able, for several reasons, tovincorporate in a helmet aninflexible shell, since: no `material of' suitable properties, suchv as lightness and` rigidity, has suggested itself to any one andA because, further, the employmentof. aninp flexibleV shell has `seemed uncomfortable to the wearer and dangerous, bothl to ythe wearer and his opponents.. lt has .been i found that fiberlends itself advantageously to use as a protective shell, in football hel:` mets` since in manufactureit can be' shaped; to the head and is light, rigidtand strong'.

ln the broader aspects of the present inven-` tion the particular shape of the shell of fiber employed in the helmet may be varied, but in the preferred form this shell will conform to the shape of the top of the head and be extended downwardly at its rear so as to lie over the base of the skull and the neck,

vsuch a shell being illustrated at a in Figure 2. Starting with a shell of this character, the improved helmet is built up therefrom by lining the shell with a layer of felt Z) of suitable thickness which, in the most ap-` proved manufacturing methods, will be of the same general shape as the shell. The outer surface of the shell o will likewise be covered with a layer of felt c of suitable thickness, which also will, ofcourse, conform generally to the shape of the shell a,

but this outer layer of felt in the pr`eferred construction will extend below the edge of the shell for an appreciable distance and be shaped to form ear covering c. An inner layer of felt b is stitched to the felt b along its lower edge, as indicated at b2, and extends downwardly in conformity to the downwardly extended portion of the felt c to constitute therewith` ear coverings, the inner layer being stitched to the outer layer c along the edge thereof by means of stitching b3. By this construction it willbe evident from Figure 2 that a double layer of felt is brought around the lower edge of the liber shell a, thereby alfording substantial protection both to the wearer and his opponents. The inner layer of felt b beingof suitable thickness for protective purposes will alsoy be of such yielding qualities as to insure comformation generally of the helmet to the head. The outer layer of felt c will afford protection against injury to opponents and serve further to cushion the blows on the helmet.

To nish olf the helmetl in a way which will not only be sightly but will actually afford some physical advantages in use, there is provided a thin covering of smooth leather d'stitched around the lower edge of the helmet to the outer layer of felt c and the inner felt piece b through the ystitching b3. Atn thefront of the helmeta further finishing cover is provided inthe leather'piece c which extends from the lower edge of the covering d around the lower edge of the felt pieces b and c andup over the inner sur-y face ofthe inner felt pieceb terminating near the line of ystitchingb'z. Thisseparate piece ofleather 'e may be cemented or otherwise fastened in' place,but servesas a desirable Afinishing, cover' to protect they lower edge of the .helmet at afpoint where Ait would ordinarily' be subject to destructive wear.

` The smooth leather cover formed as describedk lends strength and nish tothe ento opponents which is some protection to the wearer in play.

Air vents f may be cut through the entire helmet at such points as may be desirable.v

What I claim is:

l. A football helmet having an infiexible reenforcing shell of ber of one piece shapedrto conform to the head of the wearer, protective layers of felt on the inner and outer sides of the shell and means to secure the felt in place against displacement.

2. A football helmet having an inflexible reenforcing shell of fiber of one piece shaped to conform to the head, an outer layer of felt covering the shell and extended below its edge to form ear coverings, an inner layer of felt for the shell terminating in proximity to its edge, a third piece of felt secured to the inner layer of felt along its edge and shaped to conform to the ear coverings, a line of stitching along the edge of the outer layer of felt to secure it to said third piece of felt, and a covering of smooth leather for the outer layer of felt and secured thereto by said stitching.

This specification signed this 9th day of 55 January, A. D. 1922.

HENRY RIDGEWAY HART. 

